Best Day of Your Life

I have been thinking about a recent e-letter from Debbie Ford entitled "Make Your Heart Smile." In it she wrote that she declared that today was going to be the best day of the year. She wrote:

I started thinking that if today were going to be the best day of my year, how would I have to feel? I would have to be completely grateful for everything as it is. I'd have to give up wanting anything to change about the past or the future. I'd have to give up any wants or needs that couldn't be satisfied today. I'd have to give up any hopes for anything to be different. I'd have to appreciate the toes on my feet that keep me upright, the parts of my body that are functioning perfectly, my ability to see, smell, and hear the voices of those I love. I'd have to have my heart wide open to the love that exists for everyone and everything. I'd have to have deep appreciation for the challenges I've endured, the limitations I've met, and the breakthroughs I've experienced. Most importantly, I'd have to remember that the best day of the year is made up not of one special event but of hundreds of special moments and I can choose each moment to have it be an incredible day.

As part of my intentions around gratitude this month, I have been carrying this message around in my heart. I see the biggest opportunity is for me to have total and complete acceptance of how things are, right now. 

So much of my life has been filled with longing for things to be different — both past and future.

But I see now that being in longing robs me of the precious present — and all the gifts that are present in the now.

If I stand in great gratefulness for the now,  celebration, peace and joy are available to me in each moment.

There is power in declaring today (and every day, really) as the best day of the year. The opportunity I have now is to really live it.

Tell me, if today were the best day of my year, how would you experience your day differently?

P.S. You can sign up for Debbie Ford's free e-letter here. Also, listen to Debbie Ford's loved and adored meditation here.